‘BREAK DOWN THE WALL OF PREJUDICE’
Vaikom, in what was then the princely state of Travancore, barred Dalits and lower castes from entering a Shiva shrine or its surroundings. In 1924, TK Madhavan, a follower of social reformer Narayan Guru, and KP Kesava Menon, a Congressman, formed the Anti-Untouchability Committee and planned the Vaikom satyagraha. The protest saw satyagrahis court arrest, fast and compose songs that denounced the caste system. EV Ramasamy, also known as
Periyar, courted arrest twice, and earned the title ‘Vaikom Virar’. In 1936, Travancore announced that all temples in their territory would be open to all Hindus regardless of caste. MK Gandhi wrote about the Vaikom satyagraha in many articles in Young India, a newspaper that he edited. In this excerpt dated April 17, 1924, taken from the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (Volume 27), he speaks about one of the most significant satyagrahas against untouchability.
“Vykom, of which till lately no one outside Travancore, at most the Madras Presidency, knew anything, has suddenly leapt to fame because it has become the seat of satyagraha. The Press contains bulletins of the daily progress of the movement from day to day. It has been undertaken in behalf of the untouchables of Travancore. The movement has given us another word to describe the condition of the suppressed classes. It is unapproachability. These poor countrymen of ours may not only not touch any other caste Hindus, but they may not even approach them within a stated distance. The leaders of the movement, with a view to remedying the evil, have taken up only a fragment of the evil, hoping no doubt that, if they deal with it successfully, they will have dealt it a death-blow at least in that part of India in which direct action is now going on. In the prosecution of the campaign some of the staunchest workers of Malabar have been imprisoned, including my predecessor, George Joseph... There can now be no receding. The struggle may last long if orthodox Hindu opinion is actively hostile to the movement. The satyagrahis are certain to break down the wall of prejudice no matter how strong and solid it may be if they continue firm but humble, truthful and non-violent. They must have faith enough in these qualities to know that they will melt the stoniest hearts.”